


Love at First Meow

by contemplativepancakes



Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Fluff, M/M, rebel of the family! Cas, reluctant kitten owner! Dean, shared kitten custody
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-22 21:38:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13175715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/contemplativepancakes/pseuds/contemplativepancakes
Summary: Dean Winchester was having a crappy day, courtesy of his crappy job, even before a cat decided to run across the road right in front of him. He couldn't just leave the cat there, could he? Absolutely not! Dean took the cat back to his apartment and found out exactly how much one cat could turn his whole world inside out. (yeah this is a pretty bad summary but it'll be cute and somewhat funny I promise?)





	Love at First Meow

**Author's Note:**

> This is most definitely a work in progress, so bear with me. I can't promise regular updates, but I can promise lots of kitten related fluff. Tags will be updated as needed, but I'm not predicting there will be anything triggering or upsetting going on. Also, note the rating and find something else if you came for smut. I'm not sure about that, either (we'll have to see what sort of situations Dean and Cas end up in), but I don't think there will be anything overly explicit. I don't really have a set ending for this, just the general ideas, so I'm open to feedback and ideas you'd like to see the story go. I was just going to wait until I was done to post this, but I need some encouragement. I hope you enjoy! (:

Dean Winchester was having a crappy day, courtesy of his crappy job, even before a cat decided to run across the road right in front of him. He slammed on his brakes and cursed under his breath. The cat planted itself directly in front of his car, a beautiful Impala. “Stupid cat’s going to get itself hit,” he grumbled.

Dean quickly looked up and down the road; seeing no traffic, he pulled his car to the side and cautiously got out of his car. “Here, kitty, kitty,” he called.

The cat tilted its head at him, seemingly unimpressed. Dean rolled his eyes and took a step forward. The cat continued to watch him. He took another step forward and then made a lunge, scooping the cat up in his arms. The cat immediately began to yowl and scratch. Dean took off his flannel over shirt and wrapped the cat up in it. He checked for a collar but didn’t see one. By now, the cat had settled down and was purring contentedly in his arms. “No way you’re this tame all by yourself. You have to have someone who cares you’re gone,” Dean mused to the cat.

The cat rubbed its head on Dean’s chin, and Dean sighed. He knew he’d have to figure something out for the cat, or his conscience would eat at him for the next month. He carried the cat back to his car and placed it gently on the passenger seat. “Don’t try anything funny,” Dean warned, wagging a finger at the cat.

He drove carefully back to his apartment, sneaking glances at the cat curled up in his passenger seat because it was just so cute, _dang it_. Before he knew it, he was back at his apartment. He looked around carefully before picking up the cat and bundling it in his shirt again. Technically, pets were against his landlord’s rules, but he knew for a fact he heard some barking from the apartment above his a couple weeks ago. Besides, this wouldn’t be for that long; it was only temporary.

 

Three hours and one trip to the pet store later found the cat bathed, watered, the owner of many kitten essentials, and with a shiny new name. Dean had named him Zeppelin (Dean was just going to assume it was a boy; it had to be to have made it all that way by itself, right?) despite telling himself not to get too attached. “Names don’t mean anything, do they, Zep? Nah, I can get rid of you whenever,” Dean said, mainly for his own benefit. He opened his cupboards, searching for something to feed Zep. He finally found a can of tuna. He dug out his can opener and dumped the tuna into a bowl, setting it on the floor. Zep looked at the bowl curiously before making his way over to it. He plopped himself down and started devouring the tuna while Dean looked on amusedly. “Well, glad you like it, Zep,” Dean chuckled.

Zep continued to eat contentedly, and Dean went over to boot up his computer. “What am I going to do with you, Zep? I guess I should probably make some ‘found’ posters and get you back to your owner, huh?” Dean asked reluctantly.

He pulled out his phone, snapped his fingers to get Zep’s attention, and took a picture. He emailed it to himself, so he could put it on the poster he was beginning to make. He made some progress on the poster, but he started to have some difficulties keeping his eyes open, so he saved his work and made his way to his bedroom. He stopped and turned to where Zep was curled up on the desk next to his laptop. “I’m going to bed,” he felt the need to tell Zep as he went into his room and collapsed on his bed. He gave himself a second before he forced himself off the bed to strip off his t-shirt and jeans. He pulled his covers back and slid under them, falling asleep almost instantly.

 

Dean woke up in the middle of the night to a solid heat pressed up against his thigh. His first thought was alarm until he reached down to touch the warmth and realized it was a furry, purring ball. He rested his hand in the fur. Zep raised his head to look at who was suddenly touching him. Realizing it was just Dean, he butted his head against Dean’s hand. Dean took the hint and started absentmindedly moving his hand through Zep’s fur. He fell back asleep warm and content.

 

Dean startled awake and looked at his alarm clock. 8:40. He bolted out of bed. “Fuck!” Somehow Dean had slept through his alarm and only had twenty minutes to get ready and make it to work. He tried to untangle himself from the covers and managed to fall to the floor. Zep hissed at him in distress as his sleep was disturbed. “Sorry, bud,” Dean said while he dug through his closet to find something that wasn’t wrinkled.

He pulled on his pants while trying to button up his shirt. He found a tie at random, hoping it would match his shirt. He pulled on his shoes as he shoved his keys into his pockets and sprinted down the stairs of the apartment complex and burst out the door. He slid into his Impala and jammed his key into the ignition. He started the car, temporarily calmed by her roar, but then he began the short commute to the office where he worked. Dean simmered in frustration as he got stuck at a red light and behind a person who wanted to drive five miles per hour under the speed limit. Miraculously, he pulled into his work’s parking lot with two minutes to spare. He took a second to take a breath and ran a hand through his hair, trying to tame it into something respectable. Normally, he put gel in it, but he didn’t have any time that morning. He grimaced at himself in his rearview mirror, but got out of the Impala. He ran his hand across the Impala’s body in reverence for getting him to work on time, even after a little bit of rough handling to start.

He checked his watch. 8:59. He ran a hand over his face to psyche himself up for his day, then pushed through the door of Adler & Novak. Dean walked over to the coffee maker and started brewing a pot. Then, he walked over to his desk and booted up his computer. He looked at his desk calendar and mentally reviewed what was on his agenda for the day. Dean looked up as he heard a door opening. “Good morning, Mr. Adler,” he chirped automatically.

“Morning,” came the droll reply, “What do I have today?”

“Mrs. Lanlock is coming in about her divorce today at ten, but other than that, you’re free. Court tomorrow,” Dean answered.

“Great,” Mr. Adler said, rolling his eyes, “I am going to strangle that woman before all this over, I swear.”

Dean chuckled politely, even though he liked Mrs. Lanlock and was glad to see her getting out of an unhappy situation. Dean was a secretary at a law firm, and the only reason he even put up with his boss in the first place was so his little brother, Sam, who was studying law at Stanford, might have somewhere to work at closer to home, to Dean. Dean hoped that maybe he could be the foot in the door to get Sam in somewhere prestigious that wasn’t a million miles away. All Dean had was an Associate’s Degree in business management, so he couldn’t do a whole lot. Sam always tried to tell him he was better than this nine to five secretary’s job, but Dean wasn’t so sure. He was just trying to do right for his baby brother. If he had to put up with an asshole boss to do that, so be it.

Dean jerked back to attention as his dinosaur of a computer finally showed something other than a black screen. He began sorting through emails from clients and replying. His attention was torn away from the screen as he heard a shout come from the office behind him. He turned around in his swivel chair to try to discern what was going on, but he quickly spun back around when the door started to swing open. The door banged into the wall, and a man stomped past Dean to leave the office. Mr. Adler, a partner of the law firm, came running after him. “Castiel, wait! You’ll regret this! What are you even going to do?”

The man, Castiel, (Dean knew he had seen him around the office before, but he had never had a conversation with the guy) turned around and spat out, “Anything is better than working with you! I’m so tired of all this, Zachariah. I’m sure I’ll figure something out,” the man finished with a wry smile twisting at his lips.

With that, Castiel walked out the door. Mr. Adler whirled back around. “What are you looking at?” he snarled.

“I’m just scheduling some appointments for you, Mr. Adler,” Dean said, trying to maintain an unaffected demeanor.

The door swung open yet again, but Dean didn’t dare turn to look at the latest development. He knew he’d be walking on eggshells for the next couple days until all this blew over. He heard Mr. Novak, the firm’s other partner, speaking behind him. “What has my idiot brother gone and done this time?” he sighed.

Dean continued to diligently work at his computer as Mr. Adler sneered, “Apparently he’s too good to work with us anymore, Michael.”

Mr. Novak just shook his head, and when Dean quickly glanced up, he was surprised to see a look of sadness on Mr. Novak’s face. “I just wanted what was best for Castiel,” he confided to Mr. Adler.

“Sometimes they just don’t listen, even when you have their best interests at heart,” Mr. Adler sympathized.

Mr. Adler and Mr. Novak continued to have a hushed discussion as they moved back to their offices, leaving Dean once again blessedly alone in the reception area. The one thing he liked the most about his job was the relative peace and quiet he enjoyed (except when dealing with irate clients). Now that Sam was away at Stanford, Dean realized just how much he had missed his me-time. Living with Sam could get very vexing very fast, especially when Sam had insisted on Wednesdays being Burrito Day. Dean could never find it in him to deny the few requests the kid had, although he used to sometimes reconsider it when he was forced to lock himself in his room to avoid Sam’s noxious gas.

Dean was knocked out of his thoughts when the outside door to the office opened. “Hi, how can I-“ Dean started, but trailed off when he realized it was the man who had stormed out earlier. The man smiled sheepishly. “I left my coat in my office; I just came back to get it.”

Dean nodded his head while completely definitely just objectively admiring the man’s dark hair and blue eyes. “Um, yeah, just go on back..?”

“Call me Castiel,” the man, Castiel, smiled at him again.

“Dean,” he replied, unconsciously wetting his lips. “So yeah, just go on back, but try not to get me fired, please?” Dean knew Mr. Adler would not approve if he found out he told Castiel to just go on back to his office to retrieve his coat, but it was _cold_ outside. He couldn't just let the poor guy freeze. Yep, that’s Dean’s story, and he’s sticking to it.

“Of course not,” Castiel said graciously, “Obviously I came in through in the back.”

With that, the man cautiously opened the door to the back office and then slipped through it.

Dean wasn’t sure what to make of the encounter, but he just bent his head and continued typing away at his computer until it was finally time for his lunch break. As he ate his sad lunch of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, he wondered if Castiel had ever found his coat and if he had avoided seeing Mr. Adler or Novak. He had never come back out past Dean, unless Dean was too engrossed in his work to notice, and for some reason, Dean seriously doubted that. All too soon, his lunch break was over, and Dean got back to work. Regardless of his wandering thoughts, Dean managed to be some sort of productive until it was miraculously time for him to go home. He powered down his computer and made his way to the offices in the back. He knocked on the door and stuck his head in. “I’m heading out. Have a good evening, Mr. Adler.”

All Dean got was a grunt in response, but he just shrugged and walked out the door to the parking lot. He took a second to breathe a sigh of relief once he got to the Impala. He had managed to make it through another day without verbally threatening to cut anyone which counted as a win in Dean Winchester’s book. He slid in his car and drove to his apartment with the radio blaring. Dean brightened when he remembered there was a kitten waiting for him at his apartment.

Dean unlocked his apartment door and called, “Zep, I’m home!”

Dean didn’t really expect this proclamation to have any effect, but he was pleasantly surprised when a ball of fur darted from its spot on the couch to Dean’s feet. He grinned as he picked up Zep and headed into the kitchen. “What do we have to eat around here?” he wondered aloud. Dean opened the fridge and grimaced at the contents.

“Not a whole lot,” he muttered to himself in distaste, “Good thing I stocked up for you though, Zep,” Dean brightened as he opened a cupboard to retrieve a small bag of dry cat food.

He poured some in a dish and set it on the floor. Dean set Zep down, and he began to crunch on the food. Dean smiled as he felt something warm tug at his chest. Even though he liked to bitch about all of Sam's annoying habits, he hadn’t realized how big of a gap in his life there had been since Sam had left. This thought lead to Dean pulling out his cellphone and thumbing his way to Sam’s contact information. He smirked at the contact picture, a picture Dean had taken on Sam’s 18th birthday when he bought the kid a lap dance. Sam had spluttered and blushed the whole way through it, and Dean had laughed until his sides threatened to split. He tapped the screen to call Sam and held the phone by his ear. He frowned when it went through to voicemail. “You too good to talk to me now? I want to hear what’s up; call me back,” he left before hanging up.

Dean opened his refrigerator once again, convinced if he stared long enough, something he wanted to eat would materialize in front of his eyes. Shockingly, this didn’t happen, so Dean decided to just go to bed. He scooped up Zep and made his way to his room. A frown tugged at his mouth when he thought that he probably should be making those ‘found’ posters for Zep, but why do today what you can put off until tomorrow? He set Zep near his pillow and then went to get ready for bed. When he came back to his bed, he found Zep right on the middle of his pillow. Dean shook his head fondly before going to retrieve an extra pillow and falling asleep at the opposite end of his bed.  


End file.
